NCompass Live: Teaching Digital Literacy with TechBoomers.com and Other Online Resources

Teaching Digital Literacy with TechBoomers.com and Other Online Resources

Steve BlackFounder, Techboomers.com

steve@techboomers.com

Meet Steve- Software engineering student turned professional poker player

- In 2007, built a social network for poker players, PokerSpace.com

- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consultant since 2013- Seeking a more purposeful entrepreneurial opportunity, launched TechBoomers.com in January 2015.

- Work from home so I can hangout and run with my dog Samson everyday

steve@techboomers.com

Inspired By My Mom, Linda

• Used email actively

• Did some online banking

• And dabbled with other websites

•Was interested in learning more…

Free Long Distance Calling

with Video Chat

Share Photos and Post Updates with

Family and Friends

•Unlimited commercial-free TV and movies!

• Thousands of shows and movies to choose from

•Only $8.99 versus paying the $70 cable bill!

Makes Life EasierSave moneyMore Social Lifelong Learning

Technology Can Improve Life in Many Ways

Most importantly… Digital literacy will protect you online

Everything is going online whether you like it or not. So you need to:- Understand the dangers of the Internet: safety and privacy- Use proper protection: antivirus software, password managers, etc.- Use best practices when it comes to online safety and privacy- Stay up-to-date about new Internet threats and risks

steve@techboomers.com

But… How To Get started?

• I lived an hour away• The article and video tutorials I did

find were:• Out-of-date• Missing information• Confusing• Not in a structured learning

environment

The Internet Can Be Overwhelming

Can I trust this website?

How much will this

really cost me?

How do I find the websites that are right

for me?

I GIVE UP!

What is this Twitter thing?

This is so confusin

g!

Introducing: TechBoomers.com• Over 60 free courses and 900 video

and article tutorials

• New course released every Monday

• Create an account to track your course progress.

• Our mission: improve the quality of lives of older adults by empowering them to learn how to use technology

Teaching Technology All Over the World• Last month, we taught over 95,000

people across 100 countries how to use technology• Forecasting that number to grow to

750,000 monthly students a year from now

Top 10 Countries That Use Techboomers

TrafficChannel

Breakdown

SEO

Direct

Referral

Social

How does TechBoomers make money?- Courses will always be free for both users and our partners- Focus will be advertising websites and online services we teach

- We will also look to establish sponsorship partners with different types of online sites and services

- We are not and have no plans of selling usage data. Online privacy is important to us, our partners, and our users

Who was Techboomers.com built for?

steve@techboomers.com

50+ Adult FocusBut is useful for

anyone with limited computer skills

Tech TeachersAnyone who

teaches friends and family how to use

technology

Tech Training Organizations

Libraries, retirement centers, non-profits,

and many more.

Working with Tech Training Organizations

• Thousands of libraries and nonprofits in North America teaching digital literacy

• Many create training materials on their own

• Early adopters who providing feedback

• In-person training goes hand-in-hand with online

Joining the Digital Inclusion CommunityMany types of websites, services, and tools:• Tech training organizations• Online safety-focused organizations• Digital inclusion organizations• Community websites• Interactive tools for computer basics• Training material resources

Digital Literacy Communities• DigitalLearn.org• Digital literacy news, trends, tools,

upcoming webinars, resources, etc.• Sign up for bimonthly newsletter

• TechSoup.org / TechSoupforLibraries• Forums: forums.techsoup.org• Webinars• Resources and news

Digital Literacy Interactive Tools•Mouse exercises• www.gcflearnfree.org/computers/mousetutorial/play• SeniorNet mouse exercises • For more search “mouse exercises games”

• Keyword exercises and resources• http://www.gcflearnfree.org/computers/typing• http://www.learnmyway.com/get-started/keyboard• http://www.sense-lang.org/typing/tutor/keyboarding.php

Free Educational Websites• TechBoomers.com• GCFLearnFree.org• Get.Google.com/tips (google only)• DigitalLearn.org• DigitalUnite.com• ComputerHope.com• Directory sites• DigitalLiteracy.gov• lam.alaska.gov/digitalliteracy/internet

6 Ways To Leverage Educational Resources1. Free resource to direct students towards2. Share courses and tutorials with social media followers3. Use our tutorials to supplement your current digital literacy

classes4. Create new programs based on our training materials5. Run drop-in self-learning sessions6. Expand your students’ knowledge by reposting articles

steve@techboomers.com

1. Free Resource for Students to Self-Learn•Recommend TechBoomers when:• You don’t offer a class or program about the topic• You don’t have time for one-on-one training• You aren’t familiar with a specific website or app

•Download our flyer, postcard, and bookmark designs• www.techboomers.com/marketing-designs

•Add a link to TechBoomers on your website• www.techboomers.com/link-to-us

steve@techboomers.com

2. Share Content with Social Media Followers•Motivate and excite students about different types of websites and apps•A wealth of worthy content to share•Share our course and tutorial pages directly from the sites•Sign up for newsletters for updates• www.techboomers.com/partner-newsletter

steve@techboomers.com

3. Training Materials to Use in Existing Programs•Difficult and time consuming to maintain up-to-date training materials for websites and apps•Print article tutorials for handouts•Share tutorial videos with your students•Assign online tutorials for homework to encourage continued learning at home

steve@techboomers.com

4. Start New Classes with our Training Materials• Choose from the 60+ website courses we offer:• Social sites: Pinterest, Instagram, Skype, Gmail• Educational sites: Ancestry, Lynda.com, WebMD, Wikipedia• Entertainment sites: Overdrive, Netflix, Spotify• Shopping sites: eBay, Amazon, Etsy• Let us know what other websites you’d like us to teach!

•GCFLearnFree.org has a great selection of courses on computer basics, operating systems, social media, etc.

steve@techboomers.com

5. Run Drop-In Self-Learning Sessions•Regular classes where students come in with their devices (or you provide them)•Students choose a topic on TechBoomers, work their way through our tutorials, and ask questions as they come up.•Benefits of this type of class• Encourages self-learning• Teach more students at a time• No ongoing preparation for teachers

steve@techboomers.com

6. Repost Articles From TechBoomers.com•Blogging can be very time consuming•We’ve created a pool of 20+ articles you can repost•Types of posts:• Intros to popular websites and apps• Important Internet safety and privacy tips • Top 10 and “Best of the Web” lists

• www.techboomers.com/post-our-articles, or email steve@techboomers.com for more information

steve@techboomers.com

TechBoomers.com Site Tour

steve@techboomers.com

How to Engage and Motivate Students

steve@techboomers.com

- Establishing relevance is most important task to help them past the “My life is fine the way it is” barrier

- More relevance and less information early on- Get to know them to find a targeted example of how technology can improve their life

- Hobbies and passions, communication tools, lifestyle, frustrations, transportation, shopping methods, etc.

- Stay connected with friends and family- Free and inexpensive communication tools- Meet new people with similar interests- Real-time news and information

steve@techboomers.com

Social Websites and Apps

Save money on just about everything- Free and less expensive entertainment- Free games: start with Solitaire- Classified sites to buy used goods- Discount and coupon websites- Travel booking and other vacation websites

steve@techboomers.com

Learn anything online for free

- University level courses- Search for answers to any and all questions- Discover new interests and passions- Stay up-to-date with the world of tech and science

steve@techboomers.com

Technology can simply make life easier!

- Shop from the comfort of your own home

- File storage and other cloud-based apps

- Google Maps for directions- Yelp to find a great place to eat out steve@techboomers.com

Other Tips for Engaging Students

steve@techboomers.com

1. Compare digital things you are doing with real-life actions

2. Lessons should be as interactive as possible3. Have students complete tasks in the moment4. Encourage self-learning as much as possible – in the

classroom and at home5. Offer both video and text-based training materials

when possible

4 Ways to Continuously Motivate Your Students

steve@techboomers.com

Provide regular “touchpoints” with students to motivate them to try new online products and services using:1. Word of mouth 2. Social media3. Newsletters: physical and digital4. Blogging: look for quality guest bloggers

Webinar Poll: Help Us Decide Our Next Course

steve@techboomers.com

And what other topics would you like to see taught in the future?

Questions?Ideas?

Suggestions?

Steve@Techboomers.com

Slide deck: http://www.slideshare.net/SteveBlack327/techboomers-nlc-webinar-57836938

Email Me If You’d Like To

1. Learn more about TechBoomers

2. Join our partner mailing list

3. Learn more about guest blogging

4. Receive flyers and bookmarks